The 141 Archives
by TheShadeOps
Summary: Just a collection of moments and one-shots that I had pop in my head after reading other fics and writing my fics. Non-specific genre. Non-Canon to other "Shade" fics.
1. Dinner Date

**Hey guys, "Shade" here. Just to let you know, the following are just random scenes and segments that just pop into my head from time to time. Some are funny, some are serious, some are in between. I can't guarantee quantity or quality, or consistency with length. I do hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Dinner Date**

"Evening, you've reached Joe's Bar and Grill. How can I help you?" The young man's voice rang over the speaker phone in the rec room. Shade had dialled the number, with Ghost being the speaker.

"Hey, I'd like to make a reservation." Ghost said, his voice airing a casual tone.

"Sure, and for how many people?" The man on the other end was obviously cradling the phone on his shoulder as he prepared to take down the details.

"Uh, hold on..." Ghost made a quick count of the men in the rec room. Shade had gathered everyone, short of Price and MacTavish, to the room for the call.

"Still here sir. How many people are coming?"

"Twenty five." Ghost maintained his normal casual voice as the sound of the phone dropping on the other end came through. The others in the room stifled a laugh.

"I'm sorry, how many?" The man's voice sounded shaky, upon hearing twenty five people were coming at once.

"Twenty five."

"Uh, ok. And when is this for?"

"An hour from now." Ghost wasn't lying. As soon as the call was done, the twenty five men in the rec room would be taking a few transport trucks down to the nearest town where the bar and grill was to eat. They were all fed up with the food in the mess, and Shade had set this up.

"Excuse me? You want to make a booking for twenty five for half an hour away?" Any confidence in the phone operator's voice at this point had completely disappeared.

"Exactly."

"Um, I'm not sure if we can fit that many people in. But we'll try."

"Can I set up an automatic payment for the bill?"

"Uh, we do offer that service, are you planning to order now?" Ghost and Shade smiled. They had hoped this would be the case. Now the real fun could begin.

"Of course. We're all coming for the All-You-Can-Eat."

"And the bill is going to?" At this point Ghost switched the phone to the handset and gave the credit card details of Hershel von Shepherd, their commanding officer. How Shade and Ghost got his card details was a mystery, but it was going to pay off, literally.

"Ok, thank you." Ghost hung up the phone and looked to the men in the room. "Gentlemen, we have a dinner date to attend!"


	2. Game Over

Shade spoke into his headset slowly. The environment he was in demanded a slow and steady pace.

"Roach, I've got the device in sight. I'm commencing the disarmament now." Shade bent down and knelt down in front of an IED that the task force has spotted. They were assisting in the clearance of a small town, known for intense fire fights.

"Easy Shade, you gotta be nice and slow with these babies." Roach radioed back, 300m away. He and the rest of the team took cover behind their MRAPs. Shade had drawn the short straw with taking this IED, despite the fact that everyone in the task force had EOD training.

"Oh, thanks for the wise words of encouragement my dear Roachie. How about you come and do this, you know very well that roaches are damn near impossible to kill." Shade laughed, handling the set of small wire cutters in his palm. Shade slid his fingertips over the device, brushing any excess dust and dirt off of it. He located the wire pack, and saw that one wire led away from the device. This was a command detonation explosive, with a wire-link detonator. The device was old-school, but simple. "Stand by, cutting the wire." He snipped the detonator wire, therefore removing any ability to set this bomb off. Shade proceeded to take out the fuse core and render the device safe.

"Nicely done Shade. Team, mount up, let's continue clearing the town."

A single shot rang out in the town. Neon, who was taking the gunner station on the lead MRAP, fell inside, having been hit by a sniper. Gunfire erupted from both sides of the valley that encompassed the town. By some sheer luck, everyone else had managed to get inside without getting hit. RPGs started to impact the surroundings, sometimes missing the MRAPs by mere metres.

"It's like fucking July 4th here!" cried out Chemo, ducking as an RPG detonated behind them.

"That's funny, because it really is!" replied Exxon, taking a shot through the gunport in the MRAP's window.

"IED!" That last word was the last thing the team heard before everything else went black.

Shade looked over to his right, at where Chemo and Exxon were sitting. They took their headsets off and were stretching their legs. Looking left, he saw Roach and the others doing the same. The session had lasted for five hours, with little or no time for breaks during it. Goddamn MacTavish and Ghost had discovered the game ArmA 2 and saw its potential as a training tool. They, together, had made units that looked like them, weapons that looked like what they used, and created realistic missions that they would encounter in the real world. Sometimes, they were too much like the real thing. The one thing they both differed from however was that in the game, you could respawn. There was no walking away from a direct RPG or IED blast.

Still, made for good time killing between missions.


	3. Close Quarters

Shade hated being in a confined space. He can deal with being in a heavy fire fight, can deal with standing on the ramp of a C-17 at high altitude, and can live with being in a submarine for a few months. But a confined space that restricted view was the one thing Shade could not take. Darkness and confined space were a package deal, and if Shade could see what was confining him, he was able to relax to a point. But the dark confined space was the worst.

"Come on Shade, the sooner you do this, the sooner you can get out of there."

Meat, Royce and Roach were guiding Shade on his task. And so far, they were not doing a good job. The three of them had bickered over which direction Shade should take, and as a result, Shade had to reverse course multiple times. What was originally meant to be a ten minute trip evolved into a half an hour journey of pain and suffering.

"Look guys, are you sure this is the way?"

"Shade, I'm sure of it. Keep going forward until you reach a right hand turn off. Take that turn and then move up. That will take you to the objective."

Shade followed the instructions, and found himself in the crawl space under the roof. He looked around, and found his objective. Moving a few tiles, he created a space where he could climb out of the crawl space and onto the roof. From here, he crawled over to one of the many satellite dishes and started adjusting it.

"Archer, are we getting signal yet?"

"Just about there, Shade. Elevate it by ten and traverse it by fifteen to the east." Shade made the adjustment, and cheering could be heard by the rest of the men down in the rec room. It had been an hour since the satellite dish stopped receiving a signal to the nearest pay-tv provider. And it would have taken at day to organise for the maintenance crew to arrive and fix it themselves. So, the men assigned Shade to a special mission: Get to the roof and fix the dish ASAP.

"Ok Shade, Roach here. Fix up the tiles and move to the south end of the building. Chemo has the ladder ready for you to climb down." Shade, upon hearing this, wanted to kill Roach, Meat and Royce. They told him that the only way to get to the roof was the air vents and crawl spaces, and that were was no ladder that was readily available.

_I'm gonna kill them. Oh man I am gonna kill them..._


	4. 1k Hit

**Somewhat large A/N ahead...**

**A big thanks to those of you who have taken a massive liking to my writing style. Sorry if the release schedule hasn't been consistent. Just picked up two news games: ArmA 3 Beta and the new Ace Combat for PC. Loving them both.**

**I appreciate those who really enjoy Shade as a character and his adventures/stories so far.**

**SMakarov - [New Arrivals] As a fan of your stories, I love how much you love Shade. Don't worry, I shall be continuing with Shade for a while yet.**

**Bradykins98 - [New Arrivals] I myself am a huge fan of Nerf Guns (Airsoft is illegal here in Australia, and paintball can get quiet expensive) and always imagined what would happen if a bunch of elite soldiers got their hands on some. Sort of the reason why I started writing.**

**All those who have read and favourite/follow these stories - I really thank you for taking the time to read something like my work. I primarily write with comedy intended, as my dramatic writing skills are somewhat left to be desired. I may, however, take a dramatic turn with Leave Pass if I feel it appropriate, you may have seen what I can do in the new Ch5.**

**ENJOY!**

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**1k Hit**

Jessica Williams, Shade's sister back home, opened her laptop to find a new email. Seeing she didn't receive emails this late in the day, she opened it with caution.

_Jess,_

_I hope you get a kick out of this. We certainly did over here!_

_T._

Below the message was a link to a video posted on YouTube. She found the message somewhat confusing, and was wondering who "T" was. Then she saw the sender's email address. It was her brother, Thomas. She could tell as when they were in school, the access usernames were similar to what the address used. Apparently, his super-secret task force of soldiers had access to the internet.

She clicked on the link, and sure enough, a video on YouTube popped up on her browser. The video was set to hidden, meaning that unless you had a link, you couldn't find it. The title lent some indication to its content.

_Spare Time in the One-Forty-One!_

She clicked play, and an array of Special Forces team patches filled the video screen. They faded out as the 141's patch faded in. Then it faded to show the men in the rec room. They were all sitting around, doing menial tasks, reading, talking, eating, and basic stuff. Small name annotations popped up, tagging each soldier in the room. Currently, there was Meat, Royce, Ozone, Worm, Chemo and Scarecrow, with Shade and Roach in the middle of the room talking. Jessica thought to herself. _Something isn't right. It couldn't be this bor-_ Her thoughts were cut off as a song started playing and the men jumped up from what they were doing as the start to _Bangarang_ started playing. The group of men bunched up in a group just as the bass was about to drop, but instead of dropping, the sound of a record scratching a vinyl played before it transitioned into an upbeat drum and bass tune.

The men started jumping around and dancing, like a group would at a summer-time party. The tune brokedown and the lyrics started. The camera view changed from the corner of the room, like a CCTV camera, to a handheld one typical of home movies. Shade took the lead, mimicking the lyrics as the rapper started rapping the track.

_And I'm walking fast, heart is boomin'  
Got a smile on my face thats bloomin'  
No sky and I'm fine with that  
I get lost in the middle and I'm blind to that..._

As he acted the first verse out, he was slowly leading the group outside. The men behind him kept up their joyful dancing, looking genuinely happy. They reached the doors as the second part started. Roach stood forward from the group, stepping in front of Shade as the chorus was about to start.

_I prefer not to sleep in  
When the sun wants to keep in  
That's when my heart is beatin'  
Every, every time I love._

They moved outside where they were joined by Neon, Ozone and Toad, the three of them riding on BMX bikes and skateboards and pulling tricks on them. The sun was setting outside, and the lighting cast a orange tinge on the group of men. Shade took the lead again as the rap started up again.

_Streetlight, see it fine  
But I won't head home time, time  
Time is one thing I got today  
Time time is the only thing to keep me sane..._

Shade led the men to the edge of the base, which faced the mountain range that started to cover the sun as it set. Jessica just sat and watched as her brother and his friends danced around and had fun to this song. To be honest, she was getting a hit of energy and the feeling to unwind while listening to the song. The camera panned to Roach again, as he took the lead for the chorus.

_This is the place that I always dream about  
This is the place that I never leave without._

_I prefer not to sleep in  
When the sun wants to keep in  
That's when my heart is beatin'  
Every, every time I love._

_All the green and the fallen  
Leaves will always be callin'  
Looking up we're evolving  
Every, every time I love._

The group then filled the camera as they hurried to form a camera-shot group, like that in a class photo, as the rapper repeated the start of the first verse. The song faded out, and the men shouted "TASK FORCE ONE FOUR ONE! DOOM ON YOU MR TANGO!" They stayed there for a second, and they broke off, laughter coming from a few of the men as they started patting each other's backs. Shade walked to the camera and started speaking.

"Hey sis! I know you and the family worry about me. So I made this to let you know I'm alive and well. Take care of them for me Jess. Love you."

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**For those wondering, the song is called "Northwest" by Scott and Brendo. I get a kick out of every time I hear it, it really has this summer time vibe to it.**

**Had this idea, it's set after "Leave Pass", even though it isn't finished yet. Sort of like those military music vids you see where the troops act out the song themselves. My thought process was like ****_Why should the 141 be exempt from this kind of thing?_**** And as you can see, Shade is the ringleader for this.**


	5. Song Inspired Pieces

**Song Inspired Pieces**

**A/N - I had a music binge recently, and as I was listening to some songs, I got short plot ideas. These aren't going to be canon at all, just like everything else in this fic, so don't be upset/angry/[insert emotion/reaction here]. The song that is to blame is in bold at the start of each segment.**

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**Mission (Take A Look Around, Limp Bizkit) [T] [Humor, Action]**

The darkness of the night was where Shade was in his element. Shade was able to move in the shadows and use the darkness to his advantage. And in the 141 base, where Shade knew every nook, cranny, and piece of cover, no-one could find him.

Shade was in one of these spots, on a mini-mission of sorts. Despite the fact that he was moderately inebriated, Shade still felt he could achieve a one-hundred percent success for any task. And here he was, in the air vents above the sleeping quarters of the one and only Ghost. His mission, being the standard procedure for new guys, was to obtain the mask worn by Ghost virtually everywhere. Intel, if you could call it that, shared by the other men had revealed that the only times the mask was not being worn was when Ghost took a shower, or when he was sleeping.

Taking it during the time when Ghost is in the shower was fraught with risks, namely being killed after being compromised. The only, safer, time was during when Ghost was asleep. No-one had taken this approach, as the fear was that a furious sleep-deprived Ghost would be worse than a furious well-slept Ghost. Shade was destined to prove him wrong. And Shade had a contingency plan. He carried with him a "replica" mask to switch out. But instead of a skull face, it was the face of Rainbow Dash. The pony face was Royce's idea, having been the brain child of this mission.

Shade crept to the air vent of Ghost's ceiling. He surveyed the scene below through the grates. Ghost was under the covers of his bed, stomach down, head facing the wall closest to him. The mask was sitting on the desk, on the opposite side of the room. Shade lowered himself into the room, and made the switch. The original mask was sitting face down on the desk, so Ghost would more than likely put the replacement mask on without checking the face.

The switch was made, and Shade was just about to climb back into the vent, when Ghost stirred. Shade dropped to the floor and rolled under the bed. He saw Ghost's feet touch the floor, and watched him walk to the mask. The interior light was still off, the only light in the room coming from under the door, emitted by the hallway lighting. Shade peered out, and saw Ghost put his mask on. He did not double take, did not react, just simply walked back to his bed and climbed back in. Shade let his breath out, having held it for the entire minute.

Shade rolled back out, and climbed back into the vent. Mission accomplished.

The next morning, Ghost was the last to arrive into the rec room, where the entire task force had gathered. When he walked in, the entire room did a double take.

"What?" MacTavish handed Ghost a small pocket mirror, and Shade could see his jaw open and eyebrows lower under his mask. Shade made a critical mistake. He should have stayed put, instead of walking to the closest exit.

"SHADE!"

* * *

**Ready Up** **(We Can Make The World Stop, The Glitch Mob) [K] [Action, Suspense]**

The 141 filed into the armoury, everyone in full battle gear. The walls were lined with rifles, SMGs, LMGs, you name it, and they had it.

Shade walked to the Assault Weapons, and grabbed his signature weapon, an F88SA2 Austeyr. He had it fitted with a Leopold Mk4CQ/T gunsight, AN/PEQ-4 IR laser, and an M203PI 40mm grenade launcher. He slung it behind him, walking to the sidearms. Here, he grabbed a Sig Sauer P229 .40S&W semi-automatic pistol. This was his custom 229, with an extended barrel with threading for a suppressor and a rail mount for a light or laser. He fitted the suppressor on and slid the laser module into his chest rig.

Roach had grabbed an ACR, with a digital paint scheme on the upper receiver and stock. He had added a Trijicon ACOG to the top rail, with a KAC Masterkey fitted to the bottom mount. Roach was typically the man to lead the breach into buildings, so he always carried something to open doors. He opted out of the sidearm, instead taking a Scorpion EVO 3 SMG from the wall. It had an EOTech 550 holographic sight affixed to it, allowing for rapid engagement at close quarters.

Archer and Toad had selected an M40A5 and Mk 20 SSR, respectively. They both were in a dull gray colour coating, and were fitted with Trijicon TR-20 scopes. Each of them also chose Mk 16 CQC SCAR-Ls with Mueller Quick Short reflex sights. This was to be used if they got engaged while at their perch.

The rest of the team had geared up after a few minutes, and were formed up near the helipads. This was one of the few occasions where the 141 resembled an actual military unit in base. MacTavish and Ghost stood in front of the men, surveying the sight in front of him.

"Let's go."

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**Loss (Nevergreen, Emancipator) [T] [Hurt, Tragedy]**

"Today marks the day that two fine soldiers of Task Force 141 are hereby laid to rest eternally in peace, after being taken tragically from us."

_"Shade! Roach! Wake up damnit! Breathe!"_

"These two fine soldiers, Thomas Williams and Gary Sanderson, served their nations, and their task force with pride, honour, dignity and respect."

_"Hey! I need some help over here!"_

"Forever will they be remembered, and never will they be forgotten."

_"What happened?"_

_"I don't know. The building just caught alight and they were caught in the trapped inside."_

"Simon, a few words?"

_"How long were they in there for?"_

_"I don't know, half an hour I think."_

"Sure, sir."

_"He's crashing. Charging to 250. Clear!"_

_"Pushing epi. Driver, let them know we're coming in hot!"_

_"Westside ER, this is Ambulance 67, we are five minutes out with a category one patient. Ambulance 84 is two minutes behind us with another C1. Both have severe burns and severe smoke inhalation."_

_"Charging to 300, clear!"_

"Shade and Roach were two of the finest soldiers I had ever had the pleasure of fighting alongside."

_"Wait, no! No! No!"_

_"He's gone. We've lost him. Time of death, twenty-two-forty-six hours. Cause of death, cardiac arrest brought on by severe trauma and third degree burns to eighty percent of the body. Hey, how's the second man doing?"_

_"Gone, same cause of death, ten minutes ago."_

"And I'd gladly trade places with both of them, if it meant them being alive today."

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**A/N - Review if you liked, tell me what you think of each/every part. Flames, well, I'll take a CO2 extinguisher to them. Also, if you are gonna hate me for the third shot, do it nicely. I had to re-write it three times to get it right, and by the third, I was already shaking.**


	6. Life

**Hey guys. New short here. Ties in with Leave Pass Part 4. This is what happened between Shade and Steph during that one day after school. Hope it sheds some light. Also, apologies if some of this seems inaccurate/unrealistic, but some creative license needs to be taken here and there.**

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**Life**

The walk from school to home was quite long, equating to a one and a half hour journey each way. Thomas had to walk it at least four times a week, mostly on Wednesday and Friday. His mum worked late, and to stay at school for three hours to get picked up was not an option. There was no bus route, nor did anyone live near enough to catch a lift with. So, on the days where he would walk home alone, he'd pack his iPod. Music helped him get through the trip faster, as it took his mind off the boring route.

Thomas was halfway through his walk when a car drove past. The driver was female, and Thomas recognised her immediately. It was Stephanie Hills. One of the quiet girls in his grade, she never associated with anyone outside of her immediate friends. Thomas had at one point had been grouped with her for a science experiment. She was in her element in that class. The car drove past, continuing on as if she did not see him. Thomas was surprised. He thought that she lived to the west, unlike Thomas who lived north of the school. Then he realised that the main roads leading west were closed for works, and that she would have to take a detour.

A minute passed, and out of nowhere, the loud sound of metal crushing and dragging along the ground filled the air. The song on Thomas's iPod had just changed, so he heard the sound loud and clear. Curiosity filled his mind, as he wondered what exactly could have caused a sound like that out here. But then something stuck clearly in his head.

_Steph_

With a burst of energy he had no idea he had, Thomas sprinted in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, after travelling 300m down the road, Thomas saw skid marks in the middle of the road, and the guardrail on the side of the road was heavily damaged. Small plumes of smoke were emerging down the hillside, and as Shade got closer, the smell of petrol filled the air.

The car, a small Ford Focus, was on its roof amongst a row of trees. The front of the car was facing towards the road, so it had flipped and twisted mid-crash. Shade could make out the broken pieces of glass along the hillside, and could see the contents of the car scattered about. Then he saw Steph, unconscious, hanging from the driver's seat. The seatbelt had locked, hanging her in place. She was bleeding from the head, as a small trail of blood was running down her forehead into her hair and onto the roof.

Launching into action, Thomas pulled out his mobile phone and dropped his bag.

"000, what is your emergency?" Thomas relayed as much information as he could to the operator, who informed him that fire and rescue would be fifteen minutes away. Despite advice given to him by the operator, he hung up and slowly made his way to the wreck. Here he attempted to pull Steph out. First, he called her name very loud, to try and wake her up. But that was to no success.

He had to get her out of danger as soon as possible. Carefully supporting her, he unclipped her seatbelt and lowered her to the ground. He checked for a pulse, which was there but was weak. Taking his jacket off, he set it down and moved Steph onto it. Using the arms of the jacket, he slowly pulled her up to the road, careful not to drag her into any rocks or fallen branches. By the time he got to the road side, he could make out the sound of sirens coming close. Checking her one more time, he stepped out onto the road to make himself visible to the arriving emergency services.

Sure enough, an ambulance followed by a patrol car rolled up, with a fire engine pulling up minutes later. The paramedics moved to assess Steph and prepare her for transport, whilst a police officer led Thomas to the back of the patrol car and took a statement from him.

Before the doors of the ambulance closed, Thomas could see Steph wake up and see him. She could not move, as the paramedics had strapped her to the stretcher and fitted a neck brace on her. He just made a subtle nod to her, to make sure she knew she was ok.

The following week, Steph caught him after class and led him to the end of the building. Thomas was about to speak when Steph leant forward and kissed him. He was frozen still. He'd never had this happen before. She pulled away slowly, smiled, and said one word.

"Thanks."


	7. Jump

**Hey guys. Writing is picking up now, few more ideas roaming in my head. This was kinda prompted from a few songs, a few TV shows, a movie, and a level in a game. Too many to list here, so I won't bother.**

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**Jump**

"Clear right. Clear left. Moving!" Shade surged ahead in the dark hallway, the only lights originating from a light on Shade's MP5A4 and helmet. "Check right!"

"Right check, clear." Roach moved in sync with Shade, the pair moving along the hallway on the sixth floor of the high rise in central Brisbane. A small team of the 141 had deployed to Brisbane, Shade's hometown, after a tip that a well known terrorist had snuck into the border and past the ADF. This building was where he was last seen. Shade, Roach, Rook and Ghost, had pursued him up and around the winding city streets, empty of anyone being so late at night.

"Shade, any sight of the bugger?" Ghost's voice cut through the ambient silence of the radio. He and Rook were on the northern side of the sixth floor, Shade and Roach on the southern side.

"Negative mate. Prick must be moving upwards. We'll get him soon."

"Copy, see you on the other side." Ghost and Rook split, taking two rooms simultaneously. Roach and Shade arrived at the stairway and proceeded to the next floor. They were in an eight floor building on the river's edge. The south of the building looked out onto the river and South Bank, where part of the city nightlife lived. Shade entered the seventh floor first, breaking left to cover. A silhouette caught his eye, the person running directly away from him.

"Contact front!" Shade screamed, firing a short burst at the target's legs. His fire missed, the target diving to the right into a set of cubicles. "Shit!" Shade felt a hand grip his shoulder, the signal from Roach to move. Shade stepped forward, crouch-walking towards the cubicle with his weapon raised. A mike clicked over the radio, Ghost's preferred signal to alert that he was entering the floor. Shade clicked twice in reply. The man could not get far. Both stairways were covered. He would have to double back and run into either pair to reach the doorway.

"Shade, I saw him. He rushed Rook and nailed him with a right hook. I clipped him, but he reached the stairs before I could light the fucker up. You and Roach take him. I heard him mutter something about the roof."

"Copy that, moving up now. Roach, let's go." The pair backtracked and ran directly to rooftop access, bypassing the eighth floor completely. They exited onto the roof and were confronted with their target standing on the ledge.

"Hey! I wouldn't do that if I were you mate! Eight floors isn't exactly high enough for a guaranteed kill. The worst you could do is paralyse yourself from the shoulders down!" Roach called this out, hoping to get the man to their senses. He inched closer to the edge, facing Roach and Shade.

"Hey," Shade whispered. "I'm going to hook up. He jumps, I'm following him."

"That's crazy. You won't make it." Roach punctuated that with a slap to the shoulder.

"I will. Watch me." As if to time it right, the man jumped the second Shade hooked the line. Shade sprinted to the edge, only a few meters away, and jumped.

"Shade!" Roach could only watch as his friend flew into the dark sky and towards the pavement. A minute passed before the rope drew taught. Slightly both relieved and concerned, Roach peered over the edge. Bumping against the ledge, two storeys above the ground, was Shade and their target.

"Shade takes the mark and goes for the free kick." Calling this over the radio, Shade dropped the man, letting him fall into an awning below them. "And that's a goal by Shade, which puts Task Force 141 in the lead for the counter terror grand finals!" Shade released himself and landed next to the man, helping him down onto the ground and restraining him.


	8. Name and Shame

**Name and Shame**

The men were gathered around a table in the rec room. Beers and other forms of alcohol were being consumed, as it was Saturday. Shepard gave them Saturday and Sunday to relax and unwind, the operation they had just been on was a complete success. The objective had been captured, with zero casualties to the team or the civilians in the area. The infiltration and extraction had been clean and quiet. Very little shots had to be fired.

This subject had been talked about for the first hour, while everyone was still fresh from the debriefing. The following hours had a mixed content of jokes, insults and general chatter. Shade downed his fifth beer, an imported XXXX from home, and started a new conversation.

"I remember my first days here, guys. I told you all how I got my name. Thing is, never found out how you all got yours, except for you Meat." He said this, turning towards Scarecrow. Scarecrow looked around to the others, shrugged and set down his drink.

"I had to dress up as a scarecrow in order to gather intelligence on a farmer-turned-domestic terrorist. It worked, almost too well. Got left there for a week extra, the team had forgotten me."

Scarecrow downed the rest of his drink and turned to Royce, as if to say "You next". Royce shot him back a frown, then spoke up.

"Sorry mate. No story here, Royce is just a shortened version of my surname, Roycewitz. Archer, on deck."

"Well, I got my name from how well of an archery target shooter I am. Sure, sniper rifles are complex and hard to master, but a bow and arrow are a whole other game entirely. Ghost and I had a shoot off to see who the better archer was. I won." Archer looked over towards Rook, signalling his turn."

"I was the last man in the third intake of recruits, where most of us came from. I was originally given the name rookie by the instructors, mainly Ghost, as I had just come out of SASR selection and was about to make my first deployment. That evolved into Rook."

"Not as bad as how I got my name," said Roach. "You might have gotten yours due to your experience level. I got mine from my misfortunes during training. I got hurt and evaded death every major training mission. The medics referred to me being the human version of a cockroach, being hard to kill. That name stuck, and I've been known as Roach ever since."

"Please, if anyone has a crappy name origin, it's me," called Chemo, stepping out from the kitchen. "I got mine as I got off the bus. I had foolishly given myself a full buzzcut and shave before stepping onto the transport, and when I stepped off, Ghost and the instructors told me to go back to the chemotherapy ward at the hospital. Chemo stuck with me for the rest of my time here, despite that I now have grown back all my hair."

Mactavish walked in on the men mid-conversation. The men all turned to face him, making him feel uncomfortable. Shade spoke up.

"Sir, what's your call sign?" The question caught him off guard. "I mean, we all have personal call signs and nicknames, but we don't know yours."

Mactavish ran his hand through his closely cut Mohawk, and sighed. "Well, my personal call sign and nickname is Soap." The rest of the men present just sat there in awe, almost paralysed. They all dreaded asking the question, but Shade asked anyway.

"What the hell kind of a name is Soap?"

"Funny that, my old CO said exactly the same thing."


End file.
